Just 61.4 per cent of eligible voters – 14.7 million Canadians – voted in the last federal election. The day after the May 2 vote, Fair Vote Canada stated, “The Conservatives have won 54.22 per cent of the seats with only 39.62 per cent of the votes, one of the least legitimate majorities in Canadian history. If the seats were won in proportion to the votes that were cast, the numbers would look like this: Conservatives 122 (45 fewer seats than they won under our current electoral system and below what is required for a majority government), NDP 95 (7 fewer seats), Liberals 59 (25 more than what they now hold), Bloc Quebecois 19 (15 more), Greens 13 (12 more).”
Now CBC reports, “A majority of Canadians don’t support corporate tax cuts and are opposed to buying the F-35 fighter jets, two major pieces of the Conservative government’s plan for the country, a new poll (conducted for CBC News following the May 2 federal election) suggests.”
CORPORATE TAX CUTS: The Environics poll conducted for CBC says, “53 per cent of people surveyed said they were opposed to dropping the corporate tax rate from 16.5 per cent to 15 per cent. About two-fifths — 39 per cent — agreed with the cut and eight per cent weren’t sure.”
F-35 JETS: “Just more than half — 52 per cent — said Canada should not go ahead with the purchase of 65 F-35 fighter jets, while 37 per cent polled said the government should buy the planes. Twelve per cent said they didn’t know.”
The CBC report also highlights:
GUN REGISTRY: “People were more evenly split on ending the long gun registry, however, with 46 per cent of those surveyed saying the government should not eliminate it. Only slightly less — 43 per cent — said Canada should get rid of the registry, and 11 per cent said they didn’t know.”
PER VOTE SUBSIDIES: “Two-fifths of Canadians polled, or 40 per cent, said the government should leave the $2 per vote subsidy in place. Slightly more — 42 per cent — said Harper should continue with his plan to eliminate it, while 18 per cent said they didn’t know. The Conservatives have promised to kill the subsidy now that they have a majority government.”
HEALTH CARE: The Environics poll also showed, “More than two-thirds of Canadians surveyed said they want the government to continue covering the majority of health-care costs, with 69 per cent saying Canada should not move toward more costs being paid for by individuals and private insurers. A quarter said they wanted individuals to start paying more.”
Other recent polling has found:
WATER: An Environics Research poll commissioned by the Council of Canadians in March 2011 indicated that 73 per cent of Canadians want the Harper government to recognize the human right to clean and safe water and sanitation. The poll also found that 78 per cent of Canadians support the federal government spending $31 billion in federal budgets over the coming years for urgently needed maintenance and upgrading of water and waste water infrastructure.
CLIMATE: Another Environics poll conducted for the Council of Canadians in October-November 2010 found that 85 per cent of Canadians strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement: “The root cause of climate change is too much focus on economic growth and consumerism. We need to have an economy that is in harmony with nature, which recognizes and respects the planet.” 83 per cent of Canadians strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement that: “The Canadian government should invest in green jobs and have transition programmes for workers and communities negatively affected by a shift away from reliance on fossil fuels.”
PERIMETER SECURITY: An Ipsos-Reid poll conducted in February 2011 found that, “91 per cent of Canadians say the negotiations (on perimeter security) should take place in public so that they can see what is on the table. …Canadians want Harper to adopt a much more transparent approach to the…negotiations which are being held in total secrecy. The poll also showed that, “(68 per cent) of Canadians fear Prime Minister Stephen Harper will ‘compromise’ by giving up too much power over immigration, privacy and security to get a deal with the United States on border controls…”
